Letter: Concerns over Cunha's East Providence Council re-election run

Posted 6/1/16

To the editor: It was with great consternation that I read the recent announcement from Ward 2 Councilman Helder Cunha that he would seek re-election. When I look back at Mr. Cunha’s history, …

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Letter: Concerns over Cunha's East Providence Council re-election run

Posted

To the editor:

It was with great consternation that I read the recent announcement from Ward 2 Councilman Helder Cunha that he would seek re-election. When I look back at Mr. Cunha’s history, he certainly has not carried himself in the manner of someone that would be continuing to seek public support.

When Mr. Cunha was elected in an upset a few years ago. I had high hopes that this was a victory for honest government by a newcomer. For the most part his first term he lived up to that.

My disenchantment with Mr. Cunha started with the City Manager selection process. Mr. Cunha was one of the proponents of bringing in and keeping on then Acting City Manager Lemont. Mr. Cunha touted how keeping Lemont saved money because the city did not have to pay his health benefits. This comment would take an ironic twist later on.

I believe that one of the most fundamental responsibilities of the City Council is to select a City Manager, and it took Mr. Cunha and fellow Councilors an absurd two years to do so. When they finally selected a City Manager, it was a closed process with insiders already knowing who was going to be selected prior to the ‘dog and pony show’. Said candidate, now City Manager, was not qualified under the City Charter.

The next major concern was Mr. Cunha’s decision to accept health benefits paid by the city. While it was not illegal, many felt it was unethical. There was a lot of circular logic given saying that the Council did not grant itself benefits, Lemont did, and that the authorization for such came from his budget. The problem is that the benefits were offered prior to the new budget and therefore had no legal basis from last June through October, and the Council is the one that passes the budget, therefore they did in-fact ultimately grant it to themselves. To add to this confusion, there were multiple versions of an adopted resolution which in one version stated that they restored the benefits. Mr. Cunha says that his Council stipend goes to the benefits and it does. But his stipend is only $3,500 and the benefits cost approximately $10,000. That is a $6,500 raise.

As bad as the benefits themselves is Mr. Cunha’s behavior when questioned. Mr. Cunha and Mr. Conley took to the media to lambast their own constituents, call them names and dare us to “confront” them. When the public did confront them, including myself, we were dismissed. I was personally attacked for being a renter and therefore supposedly not a taxpayer. I was quite surprised that he would imply that renters had no right to question how public money is spent, especially given the number of rental properties in his ward. Given these facts, I was surprised that he would choose to describe himself in his announcement as “collaborative, thoughtful and respectful”.

I don’t live in Ward 2 and I would not deign to tell them how to vote. But one can hope that this November, the renters of Ward 2 will give Mr. Cunha his eviction notice.

Jason Desrosiers
67 Dorr Avenue, Apt 2
Riverside

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